Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-09-01
THE HUDSON'S BAY ROUTE.
Three Years Experience Shows the Canadians
1t is Not Practicable.
Montreal Gazette

1t is Not Practicable.
Montreal Gazette
The question of the Hudson's Bay
can mo longer .be regarded as involved
In doubt During the last three years it
has been before parliament, before the
public. In February, 1884, Mr.. Joseph
Royal, member Of parliament, moved for
select committee on the subject. In
supporting his motion he shed as much
light on the navigation of Hudson's strait
and bay as could be obtained without &C
tual experiment., expressly undertaken to
ascertain its character. His motion was
adopted, and the committee, consisting
of some of the ablest members of the
house, made long report, in which an
expedition, properly equipped and Off
cered, was recommended as the wisest
plan for arriving at the truth.
Lieut.. B. r. Gordon, assistant superin-
tendeDt of the meteorological service,
vas appointed to command, DR.. Bell, who
had some previous experience of the bay,
was selected as geologist and surgeon,
and Messrs. Stupart, Ash, THttle, and
others, were chosen to go as observers. A
Newfoundland sailing steamer, the Nep
tune, was chartered and fitted out for
the voyage, stations were located, and the
seasons work supplied a good deal of
interesting and valuable knowledge as to
the climate, temperature, ethnology and
geography of the regions visited. The
commander, in concluding his report,
urged that the observations of a year
would not probably give fair average,
that the stations should therefore be con-
tinued, some for a second, others for
third year, and that the next expedition
would start by the middle of May. It
was already known, from the history of
the Hudson Bay company, that the bay
and strait were navigable to a limited ex-
tent-the bay for much longer period
than the strait. The year 1884 was con-
sidered exceptionally severe, and the in
terruptions from ice were more than Or
binary. The middle of June and the
middle of November were set down as
the extreme limits within which the west
coast of Hudson's Bay could be ap-
preached.
Next year the report went to show that
the ice set fast in the western end Of the
straits during the last week of October,
and that for all practical purposes of
navigation the straits remained closed
at that point till the early part of June
IN the following year. In June open
water was seen now and then, but the
pack soon closed agajn,and remained that
way for several days. A captain of ex-
perience had seen the straits clear in
June, but it was a rare occurrence. On
the whole, the observations indicated
a season of navigation of less than four
months.
A third report has just been issued,
and from the summary published it does
1N@ L 10 L.
navigation of the straits than its prede-
cessors. They are not, Capt. Gordon
informs US, even for specially construct
ed vessels, navigable before the 1st of
July, and the season of navigation he
estimates to terminate about the first
week of October. This reduces the
period during which the route would be
available for regular traffic to little more
than three months. He returns, with in
creasing emphasis, to a subject which he
preached in his first report, that of the
fisheries, to the regulation of which as
yet sufficient attention has not been paid.
The proper method in the capture of
whales should be insisted on, and the ex-
plOs1ve bomb lance abolished. Besides
whales, seals, porpo1ses, walrus as we'll
as salmon and trout, are mentioned as of
commercial value and worthy of being
looked after. He suggests that govern
ment vessel should be sent annually for
that purpose and to collect revenue from
foreign rivals of the Hudson's Bay COM
pany. Such, in brief, is tie upshot of
Mr.. Royals motion. The government
have left no effort untried to learn all
that can be learned by actual explanation
and observation as to the character of
those waters, with a view to navigation
and commerce. Though the result is
not all that might have been desired, it is
not disappointing to those who took a
reasonable view of the question from
the first and refrained from building
hopes on unsubstantial grounds.